What would you make of a psychic medium who used their gift to foretell the deaths of those around them? Pretty spooky, right? But, what if they used this gift to take out life insurance policies shortly before those predicted death dates? Now, it feels a little less spooky, and more suspicious. That is exactly what happened in the case we’re covering tonight. This is the story of fortune teller & murderer Louisa Lindloff.

When I sit down to do episode planning, I do often try to align with the seasons and the holidays, but February, which includes Valentines Day, can be a challenge when one covers historic true crime. So, I had to do it in my own way, which is a bit dark - but, I always find there’s something to learn from those stories too. Earlier this month, I covered two black widow killers, and tonight, for this Good Night Snack, I’m going to cover the famous 17th century Italian poisoner, Julia Tofana, and her signature poison used by possibly hundreds of women to kill their husbands, aqua tofana.

At the end of every episode, I usually ask you, the listening audience, to let me know what you thought about the the story I just told… But tonight, I really want to know what you think. On the surface, it’s a “black widow” story. Or is it? I’m not so sure, but, as usual, I have done my best to separate fact from fiction and give you the full story.

This is the story of black widow, Louise Vermilya.

The bonus content for Patreon members for this episode is another black widow case, and just like the story of Louise Vermilya, I am very divided on if she was actually the villain or the victim.

This is the story of Martha Needle

I realized there’s this entire sub genre of Victorian era true crime that I’ve never really covered before, which is the American Old West! And I wanted to learn more about it! One of my favorite things to do when it comes to historic true crime is to separate fact from fiction. For that reason, I thought what better place is there to focus on than Tombstone, Arizona. So, tonight, I bring you part 1 of Tombstone, Arizona: The Town Too Tough to Die

For the first episode of the new year, I want to get back to the show’s roots with a classic Victorian murder case, where some very interesting investigation methods were deployed. This is the story of Sarah Jane Roberts.

To accompany episode 46, The Last Thing Sarah Jane Roberts Saw, which was about the unsolved murder of domestic servant Sarah Jane Roberts and the use of retinal optography to solve her case. I am going to tell you about some more cases where forensic retinal optography was deployed, and if it ever actually worked.

This is a special bonus episode to celebrate Christmas the Victorian way. In the winter and especially during the Christmas season, Victorian’s enjoyed gathering with the family around the fire at night and telling ghost stories. So tonight, I am going to tell you, in my own words, one of my favorite Victorian era ghost stories. This story was first published in in 1902 by W. W. Jacobs. It is called “The Monkey’s Paw.”

Similar to the regular episode and bonus content earlier this month where I covered a handful of Victorian Christmas true crime stories in one episode, this is also going to be a compilation episode. Since Victorians loved telling ghost stories at Christmas, in this episode I’m going to cover 6 of the most haunted Victorian houses. We’ll be visiting 3 houses in the US, and 3 in the UK.

To accompany episode 45 where I covered four stories of Victorian Christmastime true crime, I have three more stories of Victorian era holiday murder cases for you.

This is the Christmas episode! Nothing says holly and jolly like the Victorian macabre after all. Tonight, as my holiday season gift to you, I don’t have one story to tell you, I have FOUR Victorian era Christmastime murders to share with you. And they get crazier as we go. So be sure to stick around and listen to all four.

I invited a guest on the podcast to talk about something I find super interesting, which is cemeteries and gravestone conservation.

We talked about what a grave conservator does, how to get in to the line of work, things you should and should not do as an aspiring grave conservator, views on cemeteries and mourning then and now, mourning traditions we think should come back, has she ever encountered anything spooky? And, bonus stones!

This is my conversation with Rachel from Epoch Preservation.

Earlier this month, I covered the Radium Girls on the regular feed, then the Matchstick Girls as bonus content here on Patreon. In keeping with that theme, tonight’s Good Night Snack is about another brave set of women that sacrificed their well-being and often their lives in the interest of progress. This is the story of the Canary Girls.

This is a bonus content episode available exclusively on Patreon. To accompany episode 44 about The Radium Girls, I am going to tell you about another landmark story of women banning together to fight for workplace rights.

This is the story of the matchstick girls.

Tonight’s story comes to us from the US in the 1920s and 30s. It’s one of the stories that actually inspired me to start the podcast in the first place, and one I think a lot of you will be familiar with. So I hope I do it justice, and more importantly treat the victims with the respect and grace they deserve.

This is the story of the Radium Girls.

This is a special bonus episode to celebrate the best night of the year, Halloween!

This is the legend of Stingy Jack.

One of the reasons I started this podcast is because as much as I love a ghost story, I always want to know the true story behind the story. And I was often surprised how far the facts of the matter were from the story that got me interested in the first place. Often the tall tales are vilifying someone who did nothing to deserve it. And I don’t think that’s right, and I want to set the record straight. So tonight, I’m going to set the record straight on Bathsheba Sherman, who was depicted as a Satanic, baby-murdering witch, in the 2013 movie The Conjuring.

Tonight’s story is nothing short of a real life Victorian horror story. It’s what happens when the societal pressure of Victorian era ideals go way, way, WAY too far. One mother’s sense of right and wrong became so monstrously twisted, that she locked away her own child for over two decades.

This is the story of Blanche Monnier

This is a bonus content episode available exclusively for our Housekeeper and Butler tier Patrons. Thank you so much for supporting the podcast! My name is Kim, and to accompany episode 43 about Blanche Monnier, I am going to tell you about some more messy situations Victorians found themselves in when they wanted to marry the “wrong” person.

These are four Victorian marriage and divorce scandals.

One of the topics that generates the most discussion any time I talk about it on social media, is Victorian funeral customs. In particular, a lot of people relate to the covering of mirrors in the house when someone dies. Many comment that this is still a thing in many communities and cultures today. The reasons Victorians did this was so the soul of the deceased didn’t get confused and trapped in the mirror. But this barely scratches the surface of beliefs about mirrors. That’s why I’ve decided to dedicate tonight’s Good Night Snack episode to mirror lore and superstitions.